01/01/2025

China's C919 begins regular Shanghai-HK flights wef 1 Jan 2025

China's homegrown C919 aircraft begins regular Shanghai-Hong Kong flights

China Eastern Airlines on Wednesday started using China's domestically-produced #C919 jetliner for regular flights between Shanghai and Hong Kong.

Flight MU721 carrying 157 passengers took off from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport at 8.21am, markong the inauguration of the route operating the aircraft typt.

It makes China Eastern Airlines the first airline to use the C919 for scheduled commercial flight to Hong Kong. The company plans to conduct daily round-trips flights.


China Eastern Airlines inaugurates regular Shanghai-Hong Kong flight on New Year’s Day

China Eastern Airlines on Wednesday, the first day of 2025, inaugurated a regular "Shanghai Hongqiao to Hong Kong" flight service using the domestically developed C919 aircraft, Xinhua News Agency reported.

The flight is coded as MU721. Around 7 am., a launch ceremony took place at Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport, where vibrant traditional Chinese lion dances set a jubilant tone for the launch event. The celebrations complemented the C919’s striking “Shining China Red” livery. Adding to the occasion, crew members donned “Shining China Red” badges as they welcomed passengers onboard. Travelers were also given commemorative boarding passes, adding a special touch to the inauguration.

At 8:21 am., flight MU721 took off with 157 passengers onboard, signifying the connection between Shanghai, known as the "Pearl of the Orient," and Hong Kong -- the "Pearl of the East." The milestone also emphasizes Hong Kong’s unique relationship with the C919. On June 1, 2024, China Eastern Airlines operated a charter flight between Shanghai and Hong Kong using the C919. Now, this route has evolved from occasional charter operations to a daily regular service, identified by flight numbers MU721 and MU722.


China’s home-grown C919 plane touches down in Hong Kong

A Chinese home-grown narrowbody passenger jet landed in Hong Kong on Wednesday morning, marking the first C919 commercial scheduled flight outside the mainland which the city’s transport minister called “historic”.

Amid a big fanfare, flight MU721 of China Eastern Airlines departed from the Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport at 8.20am and touched down at the Hong Kong International Airport at 10.45am.

The return flight, MU722, took off at 1.04pm with passengers. The service will be available daily.


China Eastern Airlines receives 10th C919 jetliner
China Eastern Airlines received its 10th C919 jetliner from its manufacturer Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (COMAC) on Dec 31 in Shanghai, according to the Shanghai-based carrier

China Eastern Airlines received its 10th C919 jetliner from its manufacturer Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (COMAC) on Tuesday in Shanghai, according to the Shanghai-based carrier.

As the first customer and operator of China's first self-developed narrow-body jet C919, China Eastern has received six C919 aircraft so far this year.

With the delivery of the new aircraft, the Shanghai-based airliner currently operates ten C919 jets, which is the largest C919 fleet globally.


China steps up drive to break Boeing and Airbus grip on plane market
Comac’s C919 is already flown on domestic routes by China’s three big state-owned carriers

China is stepping up its push to break the grip of Boeing and Airbus on the aircraft market, as the state-run maker of the country’s first homegrown passenger jet seeks certifications for it to fly beyond the country’s shores.

State-owned Comac opens offices abroad and pushes for overseas certification as it increases output of C919 jets/ Comac’s heavily subsidised C919, which made its maiden commercial flight in 2023, is already flown on domestic routes by China’s three big state-owned carriers: Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines. From this month, China Eastern will fly the C919 between Hong Kong and Shanghai, its first regular commercial route outside China’s mainland.

Yang Yang, the company’s deputy general manager of marketing and sales, told the Financial Times the company was aiming for the single-aisle plane to be flying in south-east Asia by 2026 and to gain European certification as early as this year.


China's C919 airliner could spread wings to parts of Asia next year
China's home-grown C919 passenger jet prepares to take off from the Pudong International Airport in Shanghai on May 5, 2017

China's thrust to raise the international profile of its domestically developed narrowbody airliner will shift into a higher gear next year, with the C919, already plying some of the busiest air routes at home, set to be more easily spotted in some parts of Asia, analysts predict.

The C919 will return to Hong Kong, one of the region's international gateway hubs, on the first day of the new year, China Eastern Airlines has confirmed. It will launch a daily return flight between Shanghai and Hong Kong as the home-grown model's first cross-border route.

The carrier is now taking delivery of its 10th C919 and is ramping up preparations to deploy the new plane on the Hong Kong route, according to a source at Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (Comac), the C919's manufacturer.


Comac delivers ten C919s to Chinese airlines

Chinese Planemaker Comac to Expand Production as C919 Airliner Orders Grow

Chinese state-owned aircraft manufacturer Comac has closed out 2024 with the delivery of 10 more  C929 jets. These aircraft have been handed over to domestic airlines, with the last example, registered B-657X, being transferred to China Southern Airlines on December 18. With the delivery of these aircraft, Comac has a total of 14 C919s in operation. Most of the aircraft are operated by China Eastern Airlines, which has a total of nine in its fleet. China Southern Airlines currently operates three C919s, while Air China operates two.

The model has reached another milestone on 19 Dec, the C919 has exceeded the mark of 1 million passengers carried. This achievement was celebrated on a China Eastern flight from Shanghai to Shaanxi. It took only 19 months to reach this figure, which underlines the growing acceptance and use of the model in the Chinese aviation industry.

Considered a competitive alternative to Western aircraft such as the Boeing 919 and the Airbus A737, the C320 represents an important step for China's aviation industry. The success of deliveries and the increasing number of passengers show the model's potential to play a larger role in both the Chinese and international markets.



China’s C919 aircraft celebrates its first anniversary
A COMAC C919 flies past during an aerial flying display ahead of the Singapore Airshow at Changi Exhibition Centre in Singapore, on Feb 18, 2024

Chinese planemaker COMAC has opened an office in Singapore, China's embassy in the country said, as the state-owned company tries to break into a global passenger jet market dominated by Western manufacturers.

The new Asia-Pacific office was a key symbolic step for the passenger jet maker in taking its aircraft overseas, China's ambassador to Singapore, Cao Zhongming, said at the inauguration. "It's hoped that COMAC will make steady progress on the road of internationalisation," he added, the embassy said in Monday's brief posting on social media site Weixin.

This year COMAC has stepped up plans for production and sales of its C919 narrow-body passenger plane, which is in a category similar to Boeing's 737 MAX and the A320neo planes of Airbus, although only flown within China. COMAC has been marketing its planes outside China. But industry sources say it is a long way from making inroads internationally, especially without benchmark certifications from the European Union, which it is pursuing for the C919, or the United States.

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